Can't Hide, Can't Run
by A.J Scarlet
Summary: Coincidentally enough I find myself in the middle of a nightmare at sleepy Tall Oaks. A chance meeting drives me towards the one person I had been trying so hard to keep away from. My past emerges from the ground, slow but vicious, to devour me whole and unleash a bloodthirsty monster I thought was left alone six feet below.
1. Chapter 1

His hand creeps towards my thigh in a rather blatant manner as he attempts to distract me with his bad excuse for a conversation starter. "So what's a girl like you doing at a dump like this?" his every word dripping with jack and coke.

_Hoping to get harassed by touchy assholes and not enjoy a simple glass of brandy that's for bloody sure!_

I avoid his beady, dark eyes swimming in lust and slam my hand against his wrist before those fingertips made contact with my jeans, "Looking for a free punching bag, would you like to volunteer?"

A slender-twig of a girl with blonde hair steps out of the bathroom and her eyes lock on the bloke, "Peter, what are you doing?"

Peter pulls free from my grip, "You think you can just put your hands on me like that?"

"How is that any different from what you intended?" my eyebrow quirks. "I believe your friend just asked you a question." I chug what's left in the glass and hop off the barstool.

Just as I reach for the double doors out of the Modern Red tavern some twit bursts through. I manage to escape from having the door slam into my face and scrutinize the bloke. He immediately looks towards me and lunges like a starved animal. I duck and propel him off my back onto the billiards table with a loud thud. He snarls and throws himself off the table while the other patrons scatter away from the lunatic.

"Calm down buddy!" The bartender yells from behind the counter. When the lunatic stands and ignores him completely the bartender ducks to look for his shotgun behind the bar.

As he shambles towards a new target I notice his skin is grey and terribly bruised on some parts. _I've seen this. _"Get away from him!" I jump across the billiards table and kick him hard into a wall.

It was then the earsplitting whine of brakes flood the tavern and proceeds with the shattering of glass. Gasoline slowly soaks into the air as the earth shook for a brief moment. One of the patrons immediately runs outside to look at what happened while I wait for the lunatic to look me in the eye. _Please be wrong._

The lunatic gradually rises to his feet and extends his arms towards me. Finally the bartender locates his shotgun and aims, "Stand down!"

I look the lunatic in the eye, pale green irises and brilliant red around the edges just like the victims in Singapore. Before I took matters into my own hands a bullet rips through the tense atmosphere and drills into the lunatic's head. A police officer closes the tavern doors in a haste after a few patrons return and turns to look at me, "Are you okay?"

"Peachy."

He nods and stands on the billiards table to address the whole tavern, "We have a bit of a situation developing outside. If you can all please follow me out the back we can regroup at the police station. You'll be safe there."

"Safe from what?" Peter calls out.

The tavern's doors slam open once more to a handful of zombies spilling into the room. The officer grabs my hand and hauls me to the back while he yells for everyone to follow. The bartender slams the door shut behind everyone who made it out in time then we run through the dry yard to the first gated door. We stop behind a residential building as it looked like the group of infected hadn't burst through the doors to continue chasing. One of the patrons leans against the wall to catch his breath only to start coughing heavily.

"The hell is going on?" The bartender breathes.

The officer checks his clip then snaps it back into his handgun, "I don't know. Civilians look to be attacking each other without any provocation. The whole town is like this."

More car crashes can be heard from the street and a wave of heat washes across the yard as if fires had begun to rise. Peter's friend inches closer to him and attempts to grip his hand, seeking comfort, but he brushes her aside and approaches the cop, "The hell do you mean everyone is attacking each other?"

"Exactly what he said, genius. The town is under attack. Looks like a bio-terrorist attack too," I cross my arms and look around the small, desolate yard for a weapon of some kind.

"Now don't get carried away there! That's a pretty serious claim," The officer notices the rest of the group exchange concerned glances.

I find a pipe just sticking out of some garbage bags and tug at it, "The discoloration of their skin, the damage to their tissue, and alterations to their eyes give it away. Oh and you didn't happen to catch some of the civilians eating other people on the way here did you?" The officer swallows back his words and I sigh as I grip the pipe tightly, "I was afraid of that. This _is _a bio-terrorist attack."

"So what, you're some kind of bio-terrorism expert or something?" Peter asks then we hear a loud thud against the tavern's back door.

"Not here. In there!" I point towards the only door left and the police officer ushers everyone into the apartment.

_I'm shocked this place isn't locked!_

It was quiet save for the drone of some news anchor just beyond the hall. We all walk quietly behind the officer through the hall of peeling white paint and damaged green panels. We spill into a living room and the officer looks on to the civilians. He has his gun aimed cautiously towards them then checks the pulse of the bloke on the rocking chair. Peter's friend is finally allowed to grip his hand and presses herself close to him, "Is he dead?"

The officer nods and the bartender checks the pulse of the two women on the couch, "So are they," he affirms in a grave whisper. "How did this happen?"

_I have a pretty good idea. _The officer pinches the bridge of his nose for a moment, seeming to need a moment to calm down. He reaches for the radio strapped to his uniform, "Officer Roosevelt to sector thirteen, do you read?"

"Loud and clear officer. What is your status?"

"I located five civilians in need of evac to the station. We should be on Platt street somewhere."

After a few silent minutes the radio cut through the anxiety in the room, "There's a S.W.A.T squad nearby clearing Main street. Rendezvous with the squad at the nearest gasoline station at the corner of Main street and Broad Hill road."

"I read you. Over and out."

Peter stalks over to the bookcase behind me and kicks some of the cabinets in, "How the fuck is this possible?"

_Lovely, I get stuck with the chap with anger issues. Nothing bad _ever _happens when there's one of these assholes around. _"Calm down, Roid Rage. Anger isn't going to help you here."

"You," he spins around to point a finger at me. "You still haven't even answered my question. How are you so sure this is a terrorist attack? Maybe because you're behind this?"

I roll my eyes, "Sure. I am the mastermind behind this attack and decided to stay in town right as it all burns to hell. Please, try not to kill what neurons you have left unless what you're about to say makes sense next time."

Peter stalks forward like he was about attack me until the bartender intervenes and cocks his shotgun, "You really think that's a good idea, buddy?"

"That's enough all of you. We have to stick together if we plan to survive this," Officer Roosevelt puts his hand on the bartender's shoulder then the whole room shakes from the after wave of a massive car crash. "We better get moving now."

He leads us into another hall, the tavern patron begins to cough more violently than before and slumps against the wall. His arm knocks a couple of books off the end table just as Roosevelt opens the door to another alley, causing Peter's friend to jump into his arms. I crouch down just as his coughing fit ends abruptly and test the carotid pulse.

"What's wrong with him?" asks the bartender.

I look up into his brown eyes with a sigh, "He succumbed to the virus."

"How do you now it's the virus?"

As if on cue the patron jumps up and tries to grab me with a feral growl. The bartender manages to hug me around the waist and pulls me back just as Roosevelt slams the door in the patron's face. We fall back against the brick wall and admittedly my heart is pounding rather hard against my chest from the scare. For some reason the only element grounding me to the real world is the woodsy aroma of the bartender's cologne. Roosevelt helps me and the bartender off the damp floor and I grip my pipe tight.

"Is that enough proof for you?" I ask through clenched teeth.

"We have to keep moving," Roosevelt leads the path down the alley and we all stare in awe at the chaos just on the other side of the tall fence. "Unbelievable, and here I was expecting a dull first day on job."

"First day?" I quirk an eyebrow.

Roosevelt lets out an airy chuckle, "Yeah I just arrived this morning. The most action I was expecting was a bar brawl or something. Not _this_." Peter's friend had her gaze locked on the gruesome sight of littered corpses on the ground, some being eaten others just beginning to rise from the flames of car pile ups. Roosevelt notices this and lags behind to shield her eyes, "Hey everything will be okay. We'll make it out of this."

"Not if we keep moving this damn slow," Peter scoffs and marches past us to take the lead.

_Asshole._

Roosevelt shakes his head before he makes eye contact with the bartender and I. He looks to the frightened girl and sets his hand on her back for comfort, "What's your name?"

"Melissa."

"You can trust me, Melissa. You'll be fine. We just have to get to the police station."

The couple alleyways look like they belonged to a wine cellar from all the wooden barrels stacked against the wall. It was dark, dank, but the stench of razed flesh was overpowering. I block my nose with the back of my hand as I cringe from the odor and the bartender nudges my shoulder, didn't occur to me until just now he had a bit of interest in me.

"You look like you're holding up pretty well."

"No use panicking."

"I'm Alex by the way. Come to think of it, you even look surprisingly sober for someone that downed seven glasses of brandy."

I arch an eyebrow at him, "You've been keeping track of how many glasses I drank?"

"It's my job. I didn't know if I had call a cab for you or something."

"How vigilant of you," I mutter under my breath.

"So what's your name. I mean, we might as well know each other's names if we're in this together."

"J.D"

Alex hums and brushes his hand through dark hair, "Cool."

One of the metal doors suddenly bursts open, knocking Peter down, and a tall zombie with an engorged gullet as brilliant red as a tomato steps out. He looks down to Peter and unleashes a hellish shriek so grating I thought my head would implode. Everyone covers their ears, my head in particular is reeling something so furiously I couldn't see straight and collapsed to my knees. The zombie's gullet deflates and he stalks forward to Peter. Alex aims his shotgun towards him and fires but only manages to startle the zombie. He leans back to avoid the buckshot and pushes past us to run away. Unfortunately his shriek must have called other zombies to the area as some of them were shambling their way to us.

Roosevelt drags Melissa to her feet and Peter scurries away towards the only exit. Alex grabs me by the arm and pulls me forward into another yard. We rush past the open door and Peter finds a hefty looking log to lock the gate behind us. The zombies snarl and reach through the bars at us like animals.

"Quick through here! If we cut through this bar the gasoline station should be just outside," Roosevelt runs toward the doors and we follow.

Peter immediately looks behind the bar for a weapon, "Lookie here!" He pulls out an automatic pistol and hands Melissa a handgun, "This guy was prepared."

"Lovely, but we should really meet up with those S.W.A.T blokes as soon as we can."

"Agreed," Alex cocks his shotgun and nods towards the exit.

Roosevelt eyes Peter and Melissa warily, "Do you even know how to use those?"

Peter brushes past the officer and opens the bar doors. The rendezvous point is just across the street, closed down and desolate. Suddenly a firetruck's tires squeal, burned rubber infesting the air, and crashes into the building across from us. Roosevelt and Peter run to the gasoline station while the rest of us shoot at anything that shouldn't be moving. Peter searches for a way inside the building and Roosevelt attempts to use the radio, only no one responds.

"The hell is going on with your cop pals?" Alex asks as he blasts the head off a zombie lurking close by.

"I don't know. Just hold your ground! S.W.A.T knows we're here, probably."

"_Probably_! That's not very reassuring officer."

Alex's shooting must have called attention because soon we found ourselves getting swarmed. Instinctively, we back ourselves to a corner while picking off zombies one at a bloody time. One grabs on to Melissa's ankle and I rush over to stomp on the bugger's head before it can take a bite. Peter was busy looking out for number one apparently. Alex ducks just as one managed to sneak up on him. I drive the pipe through the base of his skull and swing the bastard against a wall until his head burst like a rotten pumpkin.

"Well, guess that leaves me with hand-to-hand combat. Lovely."

Alex backs up to shield me, "It's okay. I got you."

The swarm grows thicker and my body feels warmer as I practice enormous amounts of restraint against showing off. A zombie reaches out for Peter's shoulder and I grab onto his shirt to pull him away. Peter stumbles back while the zombie looks towards me and I deliver a fan-kick strong enough to shatter his skull.

"Why is his happening!" Melissa cries out. She shoots at another zombie on the floor as we all back up, "No! I don't wanna die!"

The doors from the bar we cut through burst open. Two more survivors with handguns rush towards us and start shooting at the zombies with near-perfect accuracy, "Survivors, come on! We have to help 'em."

**A/N: Excuse the long and slow damn start. I'm typing this up with some major family-related stress on my shoulders and a wicked head cold. I had this pop up as a dream a few days ago and was sort of tired of having zero stories up on my account. Yes there's some major plot going on, this chapter is more like a prologue of sorts really but it was too long to really be considered as such. I'm going to attempt to stretch this to more of a horror story instead of my usual action/comedy stuff, probably going to be a failed attempt but I'm trying nonetheless. Hope to get some feedback on this, or not. Not that there's much to comment on this for now. Laterz!**


	2. Chapter 2

I rush back to the first zombie I had downed to retrieve the lead pipe, of course. Seriously, why would I _not_ attempt to get my weapon back? Alex covers me while I tug at the bugger. The newcomers run around dodging and shooting while Peter and Roosevelt only complain about the sheer number of zombies we were plagued with. It's rather obvious our shooting and Melissa's screaming is pretty much zombie dinner bells at this point. I finally pry the lead pipe from the corpse and spin into a crouch to build up force behind my first attack. The zombie falls once the pipe makes contact with the back of his knee. He moans over the the sound of his skull cracking against the pavement and I stomp his nose in before dodging another zombie's hug of death.

"Die you cannibal freaks!" Peter yells out as he misses a majority of his shots. _Bloody waste of ammo. Wonder if I should trade weapons with the asshole. _"Where the hell are they coming from?"

He turns around to cover Melissa, exposing his back to three said cannibal freaks. I rush through a few zombies to grab the bugger about to chomp on Peter's back. I fling him towards the other zombies giving the newcomer in the leather jacket the perfect opportunity to finish them. "Focus Peter, you have to stay alert."

"What gives _you_ the right to bark orders?"

I roll my eyes and grab the wrist of a zombie reaching out for me. I twist his arm with enough force to topple him to the ground and stomp on his head like rotten produce. _My boots are such a bloody mess from all this damn stomping. _"The fact I can handle myself without a bleeding firearm. Stop arguing and shoot!"

"My first day as a cop and _already _I'm in a shoot out!" Roosevelt yells over his gunfire and shoots the head off a zombie about to grab Alex.

Alex nods at the officer appreciatively and backs closer towards my direction as I kick a zombie in the gut and drive the lead pipe through another's head. Somewhere in the chaos I manage to spot another one of the screaming zombies appear on top of the firetruck. _Fucking perfect! _"Somebody get that one! He'll just call more to the area!"

The newcomers quickly heed my warning and maneuver around the zombies to take it out. Something grabs my ankles and tugs hard until I fall on my back. A sodding bastard managed to crawl his way towards me and I kick at his face to keep him from biting me. Just as Alex shoots his head off the tall zombie releases an agonizing shriek effectively announcing our position for the pickings.

"I'll die before I become a zombie!" Peter looks behind him towards an alley and starts backing away from the group.

Melissa turns and attempts to follow his lead, only she has more zombies on her tail than he did. "Peter, don't leave me!"

"Are you kidding me? I don't need you slowing me down!"

The newcomer in the leather jacket jumps to grab a zombie's head and smashes it against the pavement, "Calm down people!" He stands and shoots at the zombies closing in on him, "Choose a target before shooting."

"Who made _you_ the leader?" Peter snarls and finds cover behind concrete slabs.

"Peter, wait!" Melissa tries to follow after Peter but gets immediately confronted by a zombie.

Roosevelt manages a superb headshot to save her, "Forget him! He'll just get you killed."

"Who asked you!" She retaliates and runs beside Peter.

_You have to be kidding me._ I notice one of the newcomers about to get jumped on so I run and slide to trip the zombie up. She shoots her intended target then notices the bloke on the floor. Immediately she falls back to slam her elbow into his face and helps me up, "Thanks."

"Don't mention it." Directly behind her I notice the flashing red and blue lights speeding towards us. I grab her hand and rush out of the way before the S.W.A.T vehicle rammed its way through the burning cars and into the gas pump. "You can keep this one quiet too," I mutter as we breathe in relief.

Gasoline gushes from the destroyed pump like a fountain. The air is thick with the stuff and effectively making me dizzy as all hell. My movements become considerably more sluggish and delayed as I struggle to focus. _Damn gasoline fumes! _The back of the truck's doors open and zombies in S.W.A.T gear start shooting aimlessly towards us. One of the buggers lands a hit on my arm and I feel the blood trickle warm off my fingertips. "Bloody hell that smarts," I mutter.

Peter and Melissa duck under the onslaught of gunfire and she cries out from the fear, "Help! Somebody help!"

The newcomer in the vest growls under her breath and shouts towards Melissa, "If you wanna live, stop crying and shoot those damn things!"

I back up against a totaled car, having just stepped back to asses the situation sort of speak, and notice the gasoline just bathe the zombies as they shamble towards us. "The gasoline! Someone shoot at the gasoline!"

The leather-clad newcomer takes notice and runs towards me before he fires at the fountain. We both dive for cover as the gasoline catches fire and blows the roof off the gasoline station. The bugger lands directly on top of me, knocking the wind out of me. My ears ring from the harmful decibel levels of that explosion and the man helps me up, just then noticing the blood on my hand.

"You're hurt."

My whole body is sore from the harsh treatment and I look up into piercingly blue eyes full of concern, "It's not my blood."

I notice the suspicious glance the other newcomer threw my way from my peripheral but for some reason she keeps quiet. She limps back to her feet and I feel every muscle in my body protest to any further motion, _damn I must be pretty out of shape to be this sore. _Roosevelt waves the newcomers over, just now I realize the group had left me behind for a second there. _Oh I see how it is, assholes._

"Hey c'mon. It's safer here," he leads the way back to another alley. "There's a gun shop up ahead. We can rearm there. We'll probably find more people there too."

The newcomer throws a quizzical look to the other, "Whaddya think?"

"I don't see any other options," she sighs as she follows Roosevelt.

He turns to me and nods for me to follow her, "C'mon."

I nod and follow them towards the gate, "Who are you guys anyways, you fight like trained professionals."

"Leon Kennedy, you weren't doing so bad yourself there, uh."

My gaze falls to the ground for a moment, having just found the strength to move fine but feign injury, "J.D. Who's your friend?"

She scoffs as she waits for Leon to help her open the door, "Helena."

I quirk an eyebrow at her, "I'm guessing it's not all that nice to meet me then?" I mutter as I walk past them, noticing Leon smirk briefly at my jeer.

Leon closes the door behind us while I notice the others already scavenging for what ever is left in the shop. Beyond the windows fire dances wild and spreads over anything it touches. The street is littered with Tall Oaks' civilians, their rotting flesh mingling with the warmth in the air. I would be gaging if I hadn't already suppressed that pointless reflex. Alex walks sheepishly towards me while Peter runs up the stairs to try the door.

Alex hands me a pistol and a half-empty case of 9mm rounds, "It's all I could find."

"Beats nothing at all I suppose."

Peter kicks and bangs against the door, "C'mon man! You gotta let us in!"

"Forget it! Those things are crawling all over my shop. So unless you wanna get rid of 'em this door stays closed!"

_Okay this whole bloody town is populated by assholes._

"Who does he think we are, exterminators?" Leon picks a window in the other room to watch over while everyone else does the same.

Alex and I exchange concerned glances as we watch a group of zombies shamble towards the shop. "If we were, we would be horribly underpaid for this," I mutter.

He nods and loads up his shotgun, "Just stick together and watch each other's backs. We can do this."

_Oh joy, an ever-loving optimist. _I shake my head as I back away from the windows, "We don't have the time or ammo for this mess."

Helena shoots a zombie out the window then runs over to the entrance to help Alex with our section, "If you have a better idea then you better do it now."

I rush towards the counter looking for paper clips or utility blades that can come in handy. Fortunately for me the old man had a lock-picking set just tossed in the bottom shelf. _Wonder how my lock-picking skills fair now. _I weave through the zombies managing to throw themselves into the room and run upstairs while the others deal with the swarm. After a few minutes wrestling the the lock's tumblers I unlock the bloody door. Just as I nudge the door open I hear the mechanisms of a shotgun lock and shove the door into the old man's face. Alex notices and calls everyone upstairs while I keep the old man and his friend back at point blank range. Leon is the last to make it upstairs and he locks the door shut. The old man's friend makes a risky move and rushes to the panel by the door to flip a switch. Suddenly we can hear the slams of shutters barricading the windows downstairs.

"Oh you're bloody kidding me. You had a way to barricade your shop yet forced us to deal with a swarm of those things? Seems to me like you were leaving us for dead, mate," I finally flip the safety off the gun, _surprised the damn owner of a gun shop didn't notice I hadn't done that to begin with, _and watch as he cautiously gets on his feet with his hands up in surrender.

"Hey, I don't need some stragglers being the end of me that's all! What would _you_ have done?"

"I would've put the barricades down and let them in. No one should be left behind like that." Leon sighs and puts his hand on my gun, "No one deserves to die tonight."

I roll my eyes and calm myself down, reaching for the lock-pick I had swiped earlier, "Here."

The old man shakes his head, "A little lady smart enough to work that thing like you did deserves to keep it."

"Yeah, how _did_ you learn that?" Alex asks as he turns away from the windows.

"Who the hell cares? I just wanna get outta here alive!" Peter reloads his gun after fixing the jam and glares at the windows, "Hey old man, you have barricades for this floor too?"

"Yeah, yo Japanese dude, get the shutters."

"Hai!"

The old man begins to reload his shotgun as well while everyone stocks up on what's left of the supplies, "Good news is I've got folks coming for me in a bit. Any minute now. If we can make it onboard it's a straight shot to Tall Oaks Cathedral. People are evacuating there. Heard it on the radio, but that's a big if. It's a shit storm out there and we ain't waitin' for any stragglers."

"And they say chivalry is dead," I mutter.

"And the chivalrous _are _dead if you hadn't noticed, princess," Peter opens the door to the next room with a smirk.

The shutters barricade the second floor windows just fine and the old man ushers everyone into the next room. Just as the door closes behind us the ground shakes so violently we are all tossed around the room. Another boom releases tremors across the floor and a giant zombie bursts through the doors. The force behind his tackle knocks me forward to the floor and the bugger attempts to stomp on me just as everyone opens fire. Alex pulls me up and he gets swatted away like a damn fly.

"Shit, they come in supersize too!" Leon drills a few bullets into the monster's knees and it buckles under his own weight.

Quickly I stand and kick at the zombie's face and watch him roll back into the room like a man-eating bowling ball, "Move!"

**A/N: I am attempting to alter parts of the game to fit my purposes, but getting to the plot is harder than I thought lol. Too much action goes on in the bloody game to really delve into the horror/plot of this story. Bear with me here people. Best I can do is give little clues and inklings to what I want to toy with here. Hope you're all catching my little nuggets here cuz it's going to be pretty fun and informative relating to J.D.**


	3. Chapter 3

The old man opens the door towards the roof of the shop and we attempt to outrun the fat bastard. Leon and Helena shoot at his knees before following the rest of us upstairs. Before Alex rushed upstairs he notices a red-barreled grenade in a shelf. He runs to it and throws it towards the fat zombie, immediately the grenade ignites and catches the monster in flames.

"Yeah! Burn asshole!" He clenches his fist with triumph before he continues running up the stairs to the roof.

It had started to rain, hardly did anything to assuage the flames about to burn the city down. The old man tries the emergency exit but the damn door was locked. We all look around, rather panicky, for anything else that would want to deter our escape from the hell hole. A bolt of lightning splits the dark sky, illuminating our surroundings for only a brief moment, and reveals the horde of zombies hoping off fire escapes and rooftops to reach us. Thunder shakes everything around us then the fat zombie from earlier crashes through the door. The old man looks up just as a zombie tosses himself at him and they both get knocked off the roof.

Roosevelt and Melissa catch the old man before he meets the ground below, "Christ on a crutch!"

"Hang on!" Roosevelt implores through his teeth.

"Just go!"

Melissa tugs with all her might, "No! We're all gonna make it out of this!"

"Are you serious? Cut the heroics! He'll only slow us down!" Peter shoots a zombie about to jump to our side of the roof then backs against the gate when a second fat bastard joins the party. "Open the damn door japanese man!"

I jump, tuck, and roll away from a zombie before he could swing at my face and shoot off his head, "Alex, help them with the old man! I can get the door open!"

Leon hauls me away by the hem of my tank top before the second fat zombie tackled me to the floor. He catches me before I fall back and shoots at the back of his knees, "What are you going to do, lock-pick the door open?"

I suck my teeth then shoot a zombie between the eyes before I rush towards the emergency door. The fat zombie turns around to swing the back of his hand towards me, but thankfully Helena and Peter shot at his knees. He kneels and I vault off his shoulders, the somersault provides enough force behind my attack. The door slams open with a loud clang after kicking it and I turn towards the others, "Run!"

Leon and Helena exchange puzzled looks before following us down the fire escape. Our clamored footsteps make the metal grating shake as we outrun the horde chasing us down. The bus the old man spoke of finally arrives and stops with a screech. "C'mon!" the old man yells out.

We rush into the bus but another fat zombie crashes into the front of the bus and starts lifting the bus up. "He's blocking our path!" the bus driver yells.

Leon and Helena try to shoot the zombie away and we find the bus surrounded by the undead. We all shoot to protect the bus, but a zombie finds a hold on the old man's rifle. "Get off you sonovabitch!"

The zombie pulls the old man through the window and immediately his friend and Alex follow to save him.

"What are you doing!" Peter throws a grenade towards the fat zombie, and he only stumbles back from the force, "The hell is gonna take to kill this thing!"

I roll my eyes and jump up towards the roof of the bus. For a moment I look over to Alex and the others, he managed to keep the old man and his friend alive thankfully. I run towards the front of the bus and land on the fat zombie's shoulders.

"What are you doing!" Leon calls out.

"Stalling!" I press the barrel against his head and shoot all the bullets I had left into his cranium.

The zombie stumbles back, dazed by the shots, and I flip off his shoulders. Alex covers the bus entrance as the old man and his friend return safely, "C'mon!"

"Go while you still can! I only have him dazed for a few moments."

"No!" He nearly rushes back towards me until Melissa grabs his bartender's vest and hauls him into the bus. "We can't leave her!"

"Go!"

The bus driver steps on the gas pedal and runs over the zombie. As they struggle to haul the bus over him I look for somewhere safer than the middle of the infested road. I bash my shoulder into a metal door and close it behind me as I listen to the bus speed away to safety, _well that's my good deed for the bloody day. I hope it was worth it. Still, this place is basically Raccoon City part dos, so if I plan to survive past this night I have to get the hell out of here before the government blows this place up. Suppose the Cathedral is my only sure way out. Okay task one, find a bloody car._

**Extremely short I know! Sorry. My imagination isn't exactly up to par as it usually is. Stress can do that to a girl. Ha what was that? You thought J.D would stick with Leon and Helena? NOPE! I just want to really delve into the horror and what better way than to leave her all in her lonesome to navigate through a C-virus infested city she hardly knows to navigate in the first place? Fun right? Laterz!**


	4. Chapter 4

Shuffling of dragging feet against asphalt and sorrowful, ungodly moaning fill the night. Fires from the countless crashes around the city warm the summer air as rainfall did nothing to put out the flames. I feel each drop against my skin and trickle slowly down my back as I maneuver through the alley I randomly found. The stench of rotting flesh and strewn garbage bombard me as I step over piles of turned over garbage cans, praying to Kamikai I find something I can ride to Tall Oaks Cathedral. Hell at this point I'd take a damn bicycle over nothing at all.

As I approach a corner I press my back against the wall. My heart thumps harder against my chest as I make out the wet ripping and smacking noises. The distinct smell of meager portions of iron oxidizing and lingering saline taste in the air is powerful. Something's definitely feasting. I peek around. A civilian was hunched over a corpse propped against the wall. His scent is foul, coagulated blood and viscera contrast prominently against the concrete. Entrails drip from the zombie's mouth like spaghetti while he dug around the corpse's abdomen for more. _Don't mind me._

I try to continue undetected, so not in the mood to use up what little ammo I have left. There aren't many options. The whole city is basically hell on earth so looking for a car on the main roads will certainly leave me open to attack for any beastie lurking about. Odds of finding an undamaged vehicle at this point is very slim. Last thing I need is to get suddenly ambushed in such a narrow area, so I try the first door I find and wind up in the kitchen of a diner.

_Ooh melee weapons could be useful right about now. _I find a kitchen knife and sigh as I stuff the bugger inside my boot. _Not the best for combat but better than nothing. _A sudden crash of metal sends a frigid wave up my spine and I turn around to find the trash can was overturned. My eyes narrow as the familiar smell of wet fur makes its way towards me- _it's just a dog. _I take the knife and walk towards the trash can slowly. Its black tail swishes in my line of sight briefly as I turn the corner. The slender, black dog immediately backs away from me and jumps into a defensive stance. She reveals pearly white fangs as she barks menacingly towards me and I put down the knife, "Tough little scamp huh? Alright, have fun surviving _this_ you mutt."

The chafing of cloth against linoleum alerts me and I spin around just as a zombie lunges towards me. Without witnesses I am able to use my superior speed to back-hand the zombie away. He flies head first into the wall and slumps to the ground for a moment before moaning and attempting another lunge. The bugger practically jumps into my grip and I hold him at bay by his throat. He scratches deeply into my arm, his mouth snapping at me, and I slam the back of his head against the wall. His skull shatters and his entire body disintegrates into a pile of burning embers at my feet. Soon the rest of the infected kitchen staff begin to close in on me.

Damn dog continues to bark at me as if the only threat in the room was me, then its barking cuts into an abrupt whine. I turn and find a zombie in custodial garb had bitten into its hind leg. She flails about trying to run but his hold was firm and he drags her down to bite into her abdomen. Blood gushes from the side of his mouth as he reaches to tangle his fingers with bloody intestines and the dog twitches and whines as he carves into her. I cover my nose from the horrible smell and run around the zombies with a burst of inhuman speed.

_Bloody C-virus for sure. The immense heat they produce causes them to incinerate into ash when they're taken down. But why here, Tall Oaks is remotely important to anyone. Of course, The President was going to speak at Ivy University. Perfect place to be in hiding J.D, nice choice twit._

Fortunately for me the dog is buying me some time to think of my next move. The victim's cars were still sitting in the parking lot. I walk over to the first car I see, smash the window, and sit in the car attempting to hotwire the damn thing. It was a dirty little sedan that's seen better days, going by the Harley Davidson feel of the decor I'm guessing it was the cook's car since he was the only zombie with skull tattoos on his neck. Doesn't bother me at all, I just need it long enough to escape this damn death trap. I can fend for my own after that, always had without much trouble.

As I brush the appropriate wires against each other to ignite the engine a sudden chill washes across my back. I look up in time to catch a shadow from my peripheral. _Fuck my bleeding life- _I sigh and slowly step out the car to survey the parking lot. _Did those buggers pick the dog clean already?_

Glass crunches against the concrete as I step on them. My senses are hyper aware of everything, unfortunately the whole town already reeks of death and blood so I can't rely on smell alone. Not to mention zombies don't have heartbeats and know when to be quiet when they're hunting prey, such clever little predators they are. I walk around the perimeter of the car and see nothing so I look down to the bottom of the car. _Right, why the hell not?_

I crouch down to inspect the bottom of the car and meet with glowing red eyes peering back at me. Just as I back up before the asshole tries to grab me something jumps on the car and starts growling. I look up just as the dog from earlier leaps down with gory fangs intended for my jugular. I flip backwards to avoid her lunge and duck to avoid her jump- _she's fast! _

The zombie finally crawls from under the car while I'm preoccupied with the bitch. He shambles my way as the dog prepares for another lunge when suddenly I feel a pair of arms wrap around me and a hot breath engulf my neck before they chow down. I feel their teeth rip through muscle and attempt to pull it off my bones. Blood pours thick and hot over my shoulder as I shoot the red-eyed zombie in the head and shove the zombie on my neck against the wall behind us. Luckily he unclenches his jaw and I'm released in time to kick at the dog's head mid-air. It whines from the fractured skull then I turn to the lucky asshole to grab his neck tightly until I feel vertebrae and pull his damn spine out of his body.

Viscera and other bits of rotting flesh stain my clothes and face with an overwhelming stench. His jaw was still snapping for a bite and I throw his head to the dog like a baseball. She stumbles mid-dash and I finish the job by stomping on her frail skull. I was seeing red when that zombie bit me, once I become royally pissed I need gore to calm down. The zombie from earlier twitches and what's left of his skin melts away to hardened muscle. His eyes are engulfed by an overgrowth of muscle and his teeth become twisted like screws. He gets up to roar at me in a low screech before getting ready to jump at me. I grab the asshole and use his momentum to flip him onto his back then stomp on his glowing red heart until it pops under my boot like a water balloon.

I march back into the car and slam the car door shut. The engine finally purrs to life and I double check on the gas. Before setting the car in drive I look to the rearview mirror and angle it towards my face. The veins beneath the delicate skin around my eyes are protruding and a pitch black cloud was just barely starting to spread across the sclera towards my hazel irises. _I can't lose control. I need a stronger seal. _I play with the silver pinky ring for only a moment before I finally set off towards Tall Oaks Cathedral.

**A/N: I'm alive. I swear I'm alive. Just had a gnarly cold and some school issues to work out before the semester started. As you can see today my mood is feral.. does it show? Lol not sure how my horror writing is, I feel I'm forever stuck to action and drama but oh well I'm trying. Feel free to offer tips for horror writing, I'd greatly appreciate it.**


	5. Chapter 5

I wake up to the iciness of metal against my cheek, after a few rocky bumps I remembered we're in a bus. My jaw is sore as hell and I try to sit up, fighting with a bit of dizziness. Rebecca scurries over to me to help me sit up, "You're awake!"

"Yeah, what happened?"

Peter chuckles to himself and Roosevelt throws him an angry look, "You were a bit persistent about going back after the girl."

"The fella over there decided to knock you out cold before you did something stupid," the old man hands me my shotgun back and pats me on the shoulder. "Thanks for going back for us by the way. Much appreciated."

"Yeah, sure."

_Did we really just leave a defenseless girl behind? She's all alone in that hell hole and I couldn't do anything to save her._

A woman's voice in the background took my attention towards the other two. They're huddled behind the bus driver with some kind of PDA in their hands. "Ninety percent of the population in Tall Oaks has been infected with the virus. That rounds to about seventy-thousand hostiles. We also got word that an organization named Neo-Umbrella just claimed responsibility for the attack…"

Peter spat outside the window, "Looks like the chick was right. This really _is _a terrorist attack. Pretty _and _a smart badass, what a shame."

_Zombie or not I really want to shoot this guy sometimes. _I try to hold back a growl and scoot up against the wall of the bus- _seventy-thousand of those things against one girl. I feel like shit right now._

The bus jumps and we all go sliding against the bus floor as it swerves out of control. I can feel the back tires lose touch with the ground as we stop with a screech. The back of the bus feels like it's floating on air as I try to stand but gravity knocks me back down on my back as the bus keels further off the edge. "Dammit!"

"No!" Rebecca screams as more of those monsters grab her from the windows. I try to shoot off the zombies to save her and see Roosevelt get lifted off his feet as the zombies crawl on the bus' roof to grab him through the emergency escape.

"Ah shit!" The guy with the fancy PDA shoots at the zombies crowding the inside of the bus.

Bright headlights flood the inside of the bus suddenly and we feel the crash. The bus finally falls over the edge and I feel my stomach jump to my throat as we fall to our death. Everyone gets caught in mid air for only a split second before the bus slams against the ground with a loud boom and screech of twisted metal. Every inch of my body hurts and my hands are trembling as I try to move, only I just realize what broke my fall.

"Rebecca! Hey wake up, Rebecca!" blood pours from the corners of her mouth and just then I notice her limbs are contorted in unnatural positions. Her bones broke through her skin and a sudden flash of heat calls attention behind me.

"Move!" the woman in the vest drags me out of the wreckage and the three of us tumble to the mud exhausted and pained.

I look back for only a moment to notice the bus driver, "Wait there's still another!" I try to hurry to him only for the bus to explode in my face. I duck to avoid burning my face. Scrap metal falls on my legs and the heat washes over me. I feel the mud and blood caked heavily on my skin as I look up.

The other guy helps me up and glares into the burning heap of metal and corpses, "They escape the infection, only to die like this."

"There's no time to grieve. We have to get to the cathedral," the woman sighs.

My head quickly turns towards her, "What the hell is wrong with you? These people just died!"

Their communicators come to life with a bit of static loud enough for me to hear, "Leon! Helena! Are you all right?"

"Yeah, for whatever reason. We're still alive."

"We're cutting through the cemetery to reach the cathedral."

Leon looks to me, "C'mon let's get you to safety. We're not losing any more people tonight."

My eyes narrow and my hand clenches tight on the gun, "Yeah, sure." _We just lost ninety-nine percent of the group. Oh! And don't forget about J.D probably running for her damn life all alone back there. I'm really sick of this._

I march up the hill without them. The rain picks up even more and it's dark as hell. I can't see a damn thing. Lightning streaks through the night with the harsh quake of thunder. A person, nothing but skin and bones, moans from behind a tree and tries to jump on me. _Shit! _I step back to avoid him but end up losing my balance and fall into a hole. I splash into a little pool of rain water and mud as Leon and Helena get rid of the zombie._ Is this a grave!?_

Leon holds out his hand towards me, "Stay close. We're better off if we stick together okay?"

I nod with a sigh and he helps me out of the grave. My clothes was heavy from all the water and mud- _if only my boss could see the uniform now. He'd fire me on the spot. _Moaning and the falling rain fill the silence as we walk carefully up the hill. I look over to Helena and Leon, "So why are you really going to the cathedral?"

Leon chuckles but doesn't really seem to find my question funny, "That's classified."

"What are you guys, FBI?"

"Secret Service agents."

"Whoa, so you came here with the president. Wait, did you guys already evacuate him from the city?"

His expression grows darker and hides his eyes from me a bit, "What's your name anyways?"

"Alex Guerra. I was bartending at the Modern Red when this happened. That's where we _all _were when it happened."

I couldn't help thinking back to how normal the night was just a few hours ago. Rebecca sipping on cranberry juice as she hung off Peter's arm like he was a superhero or something. She left then Peter starts hitting on the lonesome hottie at the bar. J.D's hazel eyes were so sparkly despite the bored expression on her tiny face as she ignored him.

"Hey watch it!" Helena yells out as a grounds dog leaps from out of nowhere at my face.

Leon pushes me to the ground and Helena shoots the thing in the head. It goes down quick, but he wasn't the only grounds dog in the cemetery. We find ourselves suddenly surrounded by growling killing machines looking at us like dinner. I stand up slowly and aim my shotgun at he closest dog. He growls as if he knows exactly what I was thinking. "I don't have a lot of shells left guys."

"I'm low on ammo as well," Helena says.

Leon growls and takes a step back from the pack closing in on us, "That makes three of us."

My barrel aims right between a dogs eyes, just blank things taking up space in its skull, "What do we do then?"

"Make a path to the cathedral. We have to make a run for it!" Helena fires the first round and we run towards the bridge. She finds the gate locked with a pad lock and turns to us, "It's locked!"

"You don't happen to have the key on you," Leon fires at the dogs behind us and I move to the front to shoot the lock off.

We rush towards the path but lightning strikes at a dead tree in front of Leon and a zombie pounces on him. I reach out to save him but a dog leaps for my arm and Helena pulls me back before he catches my hand in his teeth. Helena grabs a fiery branch and starts smacking the dogs in their faces. They whine and cry as they catch fire and run away from us. I look over the ledge Leon fell off to see Leon shot down the zombie and dusts himself off.

"You okay man?"

"Yeah I'm fine." He looks at the rows of mausoleums surrounding him, "I'll meet you guys at the cathedral, don't worry."

I nod and follow Helena up the path.

**A/N: I was going to post this last night but I needed input from Alex's inspiration before I did and the bugger took forever to get back to me. So here is chappie 5. Not the most compelling really but I'm just getting used to this Alex character, believe it or not he's more important to the story than J.D. Most of my human characters are. Anyways, hope this wasn't too much of a disappointment.**


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